Annals of emergency medicine
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To determine the level of universal precautions compliance in a hospital emergency department by two methods (direct observation of subjects versus self-reporting by questionnaire). ⋯ Universal precautions are not consistently used by ED personnel, and ED personnel significantly overestimate their compliance with universal precautions.
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To evaluate the effectiveness of transcutaneous cardiac pacing in out-of-hospital treatment of cardiac arrests in pediatric patients. ⋯ Transcutaneous cardiac pacing was not effective and was not associated with improved survival.
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Pediatric endotracheal (ET) tubes can be accurately selected based on body length using a specialized emergency tape. ⋯ A system for length-based selection of emergency equipment represents a significant adjunct to emergency physicians and paramedics who must deal with critically ill children. Length-based ET tube selection is clearly superior to age-based rules, which are difficult to remember and require accurate estimation of a patient's age.
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To determine the current standing of academic units of emergency medicine in allopathic medical schools and to measure the attitudes of medical school deans toward the specialty. ⋯ Medical school deans are generally satisfied with the clinical/administrative performance of academic emergency medicine units but are less so with academic productivity. Despite the small numbers of full departments and disparate status of established units, it is noteworthy that only ten of the 94 respondents to this survey reported no support whatsoever for academic emergency medicine.